The world is full of humans and animals who hold impressive records. From solving a Rubik's Cube in record time to the famous tortoise "Jonathan," the oldest living land animal on Earth at nearly 194 years old, record books cover various aspects of human and animal achievements.
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The Guinness Book of World Records is also known for celebrating the most unusual and sometimes bizarre cases, including the little cat "Toby," who succeeded in equaling the world record for the most toes on a cat.
Toby shares this title with the Canadian cat " Jake the Multi-Toed ," who broke the world record in 2002, after he had a total of 28 toes distributed across his four paws, 10 more than the normal number, and for many years became a legendary figure among cats with unusual characteristics until his death in 2024.
Leslie Lyons, director of the Feline Genetics and Comparative Medicine Laboratory and professor of comparative medicine at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, explains that "the record set by the Canadian cat stood for more than two decades before Toby managed to equal it, not break it," adding that "having about 30 paws is a natural result of polydactyly in his case, although it is extremely rare."
Lyons adds, in her interview with Al Jazeera Net, that "given Toby's young age of only 10 months, he is likely to retain this achievement for many years, unless another cat with a larger number of fingers is recorded in the future."
Toby equaled the world record for the most toes on a cat with 28 toes (Guinness World Records).
"Toby" equaled the world record for the most toes on a cat with 28 toes (Guinness Book of Records)
The reason behind having multiple fingers
Toby lives in Lansing, Michigan, with his owner, Delaney Henderson, who adopted him in 2025 to be a companion to her other rescued cat, Connie, who is also a polydactyl, having two extra toes on her front paws.
This exceptional trait, which is having more toes than usual, is known as "polydactyly," a genetic condition resulting from a gene mutation, which leads to the growth of extra toes on the animal's limbs and does not affect its health or safety in any way.
Under normal circumstances, domestic cats are usually born with 18 toes; 5 toes on each front paw, and 4 toes on each back paw.
Lyons says, "Polytotoes are a known genetic trait in many animal species, including humans."
She adds that "this trait appears in cats as extra toes on one or more feet," explaining that the relative prevalence of this mutation among cats is due to it being an autosomal dominant genetic trait.
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